Share your voice Plot detailsLarson described her character to EW: “She can be aggressive, and she can have a temper, and she can be a little invasive and in your face. She’s also quick to jump to things, which makes her amazing in battle because she’s the first one out there and doesn’t always wait for orders. But the (not) waiting for orders is, to some, a character flaw.”The film begins with Danvers as a part of the elite Kree military team Starforce, which is led by Jude Law’s enigmatic commander. Ben Mendelsohn plays Talos, leader of the Skrulls, and to say much more about the two groups would spoil the fun.Talos (Mendelsohn, far left) leads the Skrulls. Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios The film is set in the 1990s, which may explain why in that postcredits Infinity War scene, Nick Fury is reaching out to her on a pager, not a smartphone. (Speaking of the 1990s, star Brie Larson was almost born in that decade — Oct. 1, 1989 — which makes some of us feel as ancient as an unopened bottle of Zima.) Why the 1990s? Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige says all will be revealed in the story, but also told the Toronto Sun the time period would feel fresh. “It allows us to play in an area that we have never played in before, and tapping into a ’90s action genre was fun for us,” Feige said. Even the movie’s website is decked out in all the 1990s web craziness we used to see online, with rainbow text and random flashes and more.And Captain Marvel executive producer Jonathan Schwartz told ComicBook.com that the 1990s-set film pays homage to other 1990s action films. “If you think about movies like RoboCop or Total Recall or Terminator 2 or Independence Day I think there are common action movie threads you can tease through those movies which are what we’re trying to pick up on in this movie,” he said. In the scene, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) find themselves in the middle of the Thanos-sparked chaos as half the universe’s population disappears. Fury manages to use his pager and apparently sends a message to Captain Marvel just as he, too, disappears into dust. Since her film arrives before the next Avengers films, it would seem she’s got an important role to play in Avengers: Endgame, possibly saving the universe from an invasion of the Skrulls. Marvel Studios Who is Captain Marvel?Captain Marvel? Not exactly the best-known superhero ever. But her film is the 21st in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and if she’s going to get that kind of postcredits attention, fans had best brush up on her dossier. You can dive deep into her background and history with this explainer. A short version: This iteration of the character, Carol Danvers, was created in 1968, and was an Air Force pilot, CIA agent, security director for NASA and writer. She’s also struggled with alcohol, like Iron Man Tony Stark, and her personal battles were depicted in numerous comic book issues. Captain Marvel may not be as well-known as some superheroes, but the film has given her new attention. Marvel Studios Her superpowers came from a Kree alien named Mar-vell, the original Captain Marvel, and include flight, super strength, the ability to absorb and use energy, and to shoot energy blasts and lasers from her hands. And — spoiler ahead — she has an extra power that could be a game-changer, co-star Samuel L. Jackson revealed. Stop reading here if you don’t want to know…”Now we know that we need something that’s as powerful as Thanos,” Jackson told Entertainment Tonight. “And at some point, we’ll find out how powerful she is and all the things that she’s capable of. She’s one of the few people in the Marvel universe that can time travel, so…”Yep, time travel, which is something those Avengers from Infinity War could sure use about now. Numerous characters have taken on the Captain Marvel name, and even DC Comics has had an (unrelated) Captain Marvel character (aka Shazam), though to date the Marvel universe doesn’t have a “Captain DC.” Witness the rise of a hero in Marvel Studios’ @CaptainMarvel on Digital and @Movies_Anywhere May 28 and Blu-ray June 11. Pre-order now: https://t.co/yXuiocKb8l #CaptainMarvel pic.twitter.com/7jAPKrroTN— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) May 8, 2019 3:04 How to watch every Marvel Cinematic Universe film in the right order Tags 33 The future is female! Here’s your exclusive first look at @BrieLarson as @CaptainMarvel, the galaxy’s newest — and most powerful — star: https://t.co/EKfHhGIhUa pic.twitter.com/xhD00bdfF0— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 5, 2018 1:57 This article was first published May 1, 2018, and is frequently updated as new information is released. TV and Movies With Infinity War, the MCU adds insult to DC’s injury Ant-Man and The Wasp trailer: Size-changing battles and a giant ant Now playing: Watch this: Bladder basicsIn the wake of reports that Avengers: Endgame is three hours long, it was kind of comforting to learn that Captain Marvel isn’t pushing fans’ bladders to such an extent. It’s just 2 hours, 5 minutes long. The film is rated PG-13 (no surprise), for “sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive language.”Connection to Avengers: EndgameWhy does Captain Marvel matter so much? It all goes back to that Infinity War scene. 2:17 Flip through 32 Marvel-ous images from this super exhibit Review-bombing controversyEven before most fans had a chance to see Captain Marvel, some people posted negative feedback on review site Rotten Tomatoes, a process some have dubbed “review-bombing.” Some comments focus on Larson’s remarks to Marie Claire magazine about seeking to ensure a diverse group of critics was able to see her film. “Larson has made it clear … men need not attend this movie,” said one comment. What did Larson actually say? She said she’s noted that press covering her films were “overwhelmingly white male.” After that was confirmed by a USC study, she said “moving forward, I decided to make sure my press days were more inclusive.” She’s also spoken out to support underprivileged girls seeing the film.Larson was asked about the reaction to her statement after the review-bombing started and told Fox 5 in Washington, DC, that she wasn’t trying to take away access, only to give more of it.”What I’m looking for is to bring more seats up to the table,” Larson said. “No one is getting their chair taken away. There’s not less seats at the table, there’s just more seats at the table.” Best laptops for college students: We’ve got an affordable laptop for every student. Best live TV streaming services: Ditch your cable company but keep the live channels and DVR. Powerful women of the Marvel universe As for Captain Marvel herself, you may know star Larson best from her Oscar-winning role as a kidnap victim forced to bear and raise her son in captivity in 2015’s Room. She also starred in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Enlarge ImageTwo-eyed Nick Fury (Jackson) is staring someone down. Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios Backing her up in the film are some familiar faces for Marvel fans, and a few new ones. Samuel L. Jackson will play a young (pre-eye patch) Nick Fury (as you saw above). Producer Jonathan Schwartz told Mashable that the film is “almost a two-hander” between the Captain and Fury. And don’t call him Nick. “Everybody calls him Fury, even his mother,” Jackson told Mashable.Clark Gregg is returning as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, who’s dead in the modern Marvel movie timeline, but alive in the 1990s-set film. Lee Pace returns as Ronan the Accuser, a fanatical member of the Kree alien race last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy. (In August 2018, Pace posted what appears to be a vacation video where he’s wearing a Captain Marvel hat and sporting a cute, scruffy vacation beard.)Enlarge ImageDirector Anna Borden (right) shows off her moves to Law (left) and Pace as Ronan (center). Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios Djimon Hounsou returns as Korath, a Kree ally of Ronan and feared intergalactic hunter, who also appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy. Gemma Chan plays Minn-Erva, a Kree geneticist. She’s not super-fond of Carol.Enlarge ImageFrom left to right: Leader of Starforce (Law), Ronan (Pace), Korath (Djimon Hounsou), Att-Lass (Algenis Perez Soto), Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Bron-Char (Rune Temte) and Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan). Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios Jude Law plays the commander of Starforce and Danvers’ mentor. He and Mendelsohn aren’t quite as they seem.Ben Mendelsohn plays Talos, the leader of the Skrulls. Annette Bening plays Dr. Wendy Lawson, who passes on something very special to Carol.Carol also has a cat, named Goose (a change from the Chewie name of the comics). Her purr-fect pal turns out to be something special beneath that soft fur coat. Marvel Studios Cast Brie LarsonSamuel L. JacksonBen MendelsohnAnnette BeningDjimon Hounsou Lee PaceLashana LynchGemma ChanAlgenis Perez SotoRune TemteMckenna GraceClark GreggJude LawRobert Kazinsky ReviewsHere’s what reviewers are saying.Soaring tale of self-discovery”Captain Marvel was worth the wait. It’s two hours of pure female empowerment packaged with all the visual power you’d expect from a Marvel blockbuster. Brie Larson is fierce and effortlessly cool as a fighter-pilot-turned-space-warrior trying to discover who she really is. And it doesn’t hurt that Hole, Elastica and Nirvana set the beat with some of the biggest hits of the ’90s. Grunge looks good on Marvel.” —Patricia Puentes, CNETRight movie, wrong time”Most of the elements introduced in Captain Marvel seem like set-up for future Captain Marvel movies, not for immediately looming events. And if Captain Marvel isn’t set-up for Endgame, then why are we watching it right now?” —Michael Rougeau, GameSpotGreatest strength is its biggest weakness”Captain Marvel is a fine rollout for a character who will likely be dropping by many an Avengers movie for years to come. But as a film it’s only halfway there, filling in nerdy details about the larger cosmic concerns of the Marvel world but failing to stage one outstanding set piece in the process.” —David Sims, The AtlanticMessy origin story with clever twists”Captain Marvel is all over the place, careening from far-flung laser-spraying cosmos to the car-chasing streets of ’90s Los Angeles. This latest Marvel Studios expansion pack stars Oscar winner Brie Larson as an amnesiac. (She’s haunted by memories of Annette Bening, as all the best humans are.) So the main character doesn’t know who she is, and the movie around her has a similar problem. Captain Marvel only figures itself out toward the end, when a couple twists I won’t spoil sharpen the spanning saga into a motley-crew errand of mercy.” —Darren Franich, Entertainment WeeklyBrie Larson packs a punch”Captain Marvel, the first Marvel adaptation both to star a woman and to be co-directed by a woman, is an obvious, crude, and transparent film. And it’s also quite enjoyable and evocative — most of the time.” —April Wolfe, The WrapStan Lee tributeMarvel Comics leader Stan Lee died in November 2018 at age 95, but he isn’t forgotten in the company’s films, including this one. Lee is famous for making cameos in Marvel’s movies, and his appearance in Captain Marvel is even more special. Not only does he make his traditional appearance during the movie, but he’s honored the very second the film begins with a neat montage.”We did want to kind of have a moment and tribute to Stan Lee in this movie, obviously,” director Anna Boden told Metro. “It was something that came from Marvel and when they showed it to us, there was not a dry eye in the house. It was really emotional.” On Feb. 6, Disney CEO Bob Iger noted that Captain Marvel will be the company’s first film to skip Netflix and instead head to the Disney Plus streaming service. Iger shared that news in a conference call with Wall Street analysts, Deadline reported. (More info on Disney Plus is here, but if you love Marvel and Star Wars movies, better rejigger the budget to soon include another subscription fee.)Box officeCaptain Marvel opened March 8 and quickly showed her superpowers at the box office. As of May 7 the film had blasted past $1.1 billion globally, earning $421 million domestically and $699 million internationally. It claimed the second biggest global opening weekend totals for a superhero film, trailing only Avengers: Infinity War.The film nabbed various places on the all-time lists, including the third-biggest domestic March debut of all time and the seventh-biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe debut ever. Of the MCU films, only the Avengers films, Black Panther, Iron Man 3 and Captain America: Civil War have opened better. 26 Photos More Marvel More powerful than Thanos?Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently told Cosmic Book News that Captain Marvel is the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”She’s one of the most popular characters in our comics, she’s one of the most powerful characters in the comics, and will be the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Feige said. Who’s the captain now? From the moment the postcredits scene rolled in Avengers: Infinity War, it became obvious it’s Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). Spoilers ahead.Home videoMissed it at the theater? Captain Marvel is now available in digital form and on Blu-ray. The streaming version can be ordered on Amazon. It’s priced at $19.99 to buy, with bonus features, for the HD version.The home version includes a variety of features, including one called The Origin of Nick Fury, and one feature titled Hiss-sterical Cat-titude, all about the feline/Flerken star Goose. There are also six deleted scenes and a gag reel.See on AmazonNote that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of products linked from this page. Now playing: Watch this: Captain Marvel trailer shows Carol Danvers’ backstory,… 32 Photos Captain Marvel second trailer packs a punch Comments On Feb. 25, Rotten Tomatoes changed its site so that readers could no longer leave comments on a movie before the film was showing in theaters, but the company president told CNET the changes were not solely spurred by the Captain Marvel controversy.Once the film did open, the audience score swerved up and down as some of those review-bombers likely returned to post amid honest reviews that were both negative and positive. But less than a week after the film opened, the audience score sat at 63 percent liking the film, while the Tomatometer, which summarizes critics’ reviews, was at 79 percent. Now playing: Watch this: Women of Marvel Captain Marvel Marvel The Avengersread more

Jax Jacobsen As Amazon burns, Vatican prepares for summit on region’s faith and sustainabilit … August 30, 2019 News • Photos of the Week Share This! Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn ReddIt Email Photos of the Week August 30, 2019 By: Jax Jacobsen Catholicism By: Jax Jacobsen TagsBill 21 homepage featured Parti Quebecois Quebec religious discrimination religious freedom,You may also like Instagram apostasy stirs controversy over Christian ‘influencers’ August 30, 2019 Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn ReddIt Email Share This! Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn ReddIt Email,(RNS) — Quebec’s provincial assembly will vote Friday (June 14) on Bill 21, a controversial measure that would ban public-sector workers in positions of authority from wearing any sort of religious symbolism while at their job. If passed, the law would bar Muslim women who wear the hijab, Sikhs wearing turbans and Jewish men wearing kippas, among others, from being able to work as teachers, police officers and judges. Christians would also have to remove their crosses.More drastically, however, Bill 21 would also prohibit anyone from wearing religious symbols while receiving services from government bodies, including transit, doctors and dentists, school boards or subsidized day cares. If it passes, women wearing religious covering — including the niqab — would not be able to use a bus without revealing their faces.The governing Coalition Avenir Quebec hopes to pass the law before heading on summer break.An overview of Bill 21The measure, which CAQ promised to pass in last fall’s electoral campaign, aims to protect the secularity of the province. According to the text of the law, it also “attaches importance to the equality of women and men.”The proposed bill immediately drew criticism from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called it “unthinkable” that “in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion,” while legal scholars maintain that the bill clearly violates Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.RELATED: In Quebec, Christian liberalism becomes the religious authorityQuebec Premier François Legault on March 28, 2019, as his government voted on Bill 21. The crucifix behind him would likely disappear if the legislation is passed. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot)The U.N. has also weighed in on the legislation, warning that the bill could lead to the violation of rights, including rights to health or education.Quebec Premier François Legault insists that the bill is not discriminatory and that what voters want is to settle the issue of religious symbols in the public sphere once and for all.What impact will it have?Groups representing religious minorities are largely unsupportive of the bill and say it is discriminatory.“What it does is disadvantage the women who want to practice their faith from participating in the labor market,” said Nuzhat Jafri, who is executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women.“We’re not talking about large numbers of people foisting their religion on anyone,” Jafri said. “Women are practicing their faith and at the same time they want to be full participants in Quebec society.”During public hearings on the bill in May, Amrit Kaur, the World Sikh Organization’s vice president for Quebec, said the bill was “offensive to neutrality or secularism in the public sector and does nothing to advance the cause of gender equality.” According to the WSO, passing the bill would set a dangerous precedent that would undermine the rights of women and minority religious groups in the province.But those in support of the bill insist such measures are necessary to preserve Quebec’s religious neutrality.“For us, democracy is inseparable from secularism,” said Diane Guilbault, president of Pour les droits des Femmes (For the Rights of Women).“We are not asking for the end of religions. We are asking for the state to disassociate itself completely from them in its relations with citizens,” she said, pointing to how people use religious pretexts to deny rights to women.“The majority of Quebecers — of all backgrounds — support a secular state,” she said.Fourth time’s the charm?CAQ’s bill is the fourth attempt in the legislature to ban religious symbols in the public sector. In 2010, Premier Jean Charest presented a bill requiring individuals to show their face when receiving government services. In 2013, Premier Pauline Marois, with the nationalist Parti Quebecois, tried to pass the Charter of Values, which would have affirmed “state secularism and religious neutrality” while also ensuring the equality of men and women.Like Bill 21, the charter would have banned all public workers, including teachers and those working in the health professions, from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, though smaller pieces of jewelry with religious markings would be permitted.The controversial bill never passed, as Marois lost an April 2014 election she had called to gain an outright majority. Her loss was attributed in part to deep-seated opposition to the charter.The Liberal government that replaced Marois’, however, passed its own religious neutrality bill in October 2017, which banned all public workers and those receiving government services from covering their faces. That law is undergoing legal challenges.CAQ came to power promising to take action on the issue, emphasizing that people were growing tired of the debate.There are differences between the bills, said Daniel Béland, the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.“CAQ is going farther than the Liberals,” he said. “The Liberals supported a much more restrictive approach to secularism, while CAQ is closer to the Parti Quebecois in some areas. In the case of the CAQ, it’s a blanket approach, and it’s easier to implement.”How could this happen in Canada?Canada, unlike the U.S., does not have a bill of rights explicitly endorsing freedom of religion.The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which has existed since 1982, guarantees a number of freedoms, including the freedom of religion and the freedom of assembly. However, it also includes a “notwithstanding clause” that allows provinces to override the charter for five years.Canada is “a very decentralized country, far more than the U.S.,” Béland said. “What the notwithstanding clause does is it allows the parliament, or a provincial legislature, to temporarily override certain aspects of the charter, so it’s something you can do for a limited time and then renew it.”CAQ has included a notwithstanding clause in the bill, which legal experts warn will invite a flurry of legal action.“It’s a controversial move,” Béland said. “It’s the first time that Quebec has used the clause since 1988, when they used it for the Charter of the French Language, to defend legislation to force immigrants in Quebec to go to French schools.”People protest in Karachi, Pakistan, on Feb. 2, 2017, against an attack days earlier on the Quebec Islamic Culture Centre in Canada that killed six Muslim men during evening prayers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec’s premier at the time, Philippe Couillard, both characterized the attack as a terrorist act. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)Climate of rising anti-Muslim incidentsThis latest version of a religious neutrality law comes as incidents against religious minorities, and particularly Muslims, have been rising.Most notably, in January 2017, six Muslim men were shot dead in their mosque in Quebec City. According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes against Muslims grew by 253% from 2012 to 2015, largely propelled by incidents in Quebec and Ontario. Since Bill 21 was introduced in the National Assembly, Muslim women in the province say they have experienced increasing levels of provocation.The end of the issue?Though Legault has said he has presented the bill to bring closure to an issue that has dominated Quebec politics for over a decade, it’s unlikely this legislation will succeed in that.Coalition Avenir Quebec leader François Legault, left, speaks on the campaign trail in Montreal in September 2018 before the election that saw his party form a majority government. (The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz)Opposition to Bill 21 is very forceful, Béland said, partly because a lot more people will be affected by this bill than by its previous iterations.It also exacerbates divisions in Quebec society.Opposition “is concentrated in Montreal, as it’s by far the largest city in the province and has the most immigrants and the largest Anglophone minority,” he said, referring to the city’s English speakers.Anglophones, in Quebec and across the rest of Canada, are less likely to share the French-speaking population’s attachment to laïcité, a concept of secular assimilation that is also prized in France.But there’s also a clash in age groups, Béland added. “Younger people care less about these issues than older people, and they give more weight to religious freedom than secularism.”Protests were held in Quebec City on Wednesday against the bill. Share This! Jax Jacobsen,Load Comments,California church sues after removal as polling place over Black Lives Matter banners Southern Baptists face sex abuse crisis with litany of lament Share This! Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn ReddIt Email,About the authorView All Posts Share This! News Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn ReddIt Email By: Jax Jacobsenread more